Wednesday, March 9, 2016

911 Syndrome: Acura NSX May Add Convertible, Type R Variants

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Acura desperately wants its new NSX to be taken seriously in the supercar realm, and one measly variant won’t do when Porsche offers upwards of 20 versions of the 911. To that end, both a convertible NSX and a track-ready NSX Type R might be in the cards, according to a report in Autocar.

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This info comes straight from NSX development engineer Nick Robinson, who told Autocar that Honda wants to create a lightweight, hardcore NSX to live up to the hallowed “Type R” badge. This reportedly would involve a use of more exotic materials to cut weight, possible active aerodynamics, and even a reworked drivetrain that could make the car rear-wheel drive.

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The standard Acura NSX uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 along with three electric motors, two in front and one in the rear, that give the car all-wheel drive. Cutting out the dual front electric motors and their associated batteries would save plenty of pounds, although the rear electric motor likely would remain. There’s even a precedent for a rear-drive NSX (other than the original, of course): One of the modified Acuras set to race the Pikes Peak hill-climb apparently does without the hybrid machinery, and uses a more powerful version of the V-6 with electric superchargers to supplant the twin turbos. Robinson also let on that the existing NSX has a sort of “cheat mode” that disconnects the front motors and turns the car into a “drift machine.” Sounds plenty enticing to us.

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As for the topless NSX, Robinson said it was a distinct possibility because the car’s body is so stiff. To minimize the structural changes and mitigate any possible weight gain, an open-roof NSX would most likely feature a removable roof panel in the vein of the Chevrolet Corvette. If you remember back to 2012’s The Avengers, Tony Stark’s NSX convertible [pictured below] might give some indication of what the NSX would look like without a roof, although that car was a one-off concept created specifically for the film.